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Modern + Traditional = Modertional!

|| Tue, 4/2/2013

Working in the apartment industry, as well as being a renter myself, I come across numerous different styles of apartment homes. I have seen the traditional kind - full doors, wood, marble, granite. Then, every once in a while, the non-traditional kind - kind of like the ones I lease for a living. Camden Cotton Mills, my home property, is a very modern community. Built on the ruins of a former North Carolinian cotton mill, Camden has done its best to preserve the history and natural order of the building by keeping it as urban and contemporary as possible. Complete with exposed ductwork, 3 feet of concrete between each floor and a full brick exterior, if you are looking for the non-traditional taste of tradition, this would be the perfect community for you. Because of the unique nature of this type of community, sometimes the question of interior decoration can be a difficult one. With many of the apartment home floor plans sans traditional doors, with black stained concrete flooring, "Juliet balconies" and half walls, many potential/current renters have had to improvise with home decorating ideas. In today's blog, I will do my best to pave the way for new decorating ideas, using some that I have seen myself in the homes and others that I have read about. How to overcome the "No door" objection: Try accordion doors! These doors are fabulous. You can assemble and disassemble them as you choose, they are lightweight AND they are affordable. Available at stores like Pier 1 Imports or IKEA Furniture, these stylish furniture pieces come cheap! They usually have a design on them that will add to the styling of any room. Curtains are all purpose! Curtains come in all colors, lengths and thickness. You can buy the kind that drape from the ceiling or the kind that would cover the entire doorway. If you are worried about noise, you can buy curtains that help to minimize that as well. These can be a marvelous substitute for any door. How do you add flair to what could be presumed as the "cold nature of a modern home"? Paintings can add warmth to any room. Choose an artist that specializes in nature or scenery paintings. When looking at an oil painting, one can oftentimes be "removed" to the place in the art. This gives a feeling of warmth and escape. Rugs! Rugs! and more Rugs!! The majority of our floor plans come with a sleek looking black stained concrete. This concrete looks super smooth already, but add a rug to that and you have personalized modernly traditional space. Rugs come in all sizes and colors and they are great way to instantly "personalize" a room. Carpet oftentimes gives the illusion of "warmth", but we all know that when you get down to it, carpets are hard to maintain. With a rug, the cleanup is minimal and the risk of being charged a carpet replacement fee after move out is almost fully eliminated. According to Southern Living Magazine, animal print rugs are back in style now too. Shop antique stores. Antique and thrift shopping is back in style. As Macklemore continues to remind us, take it "Grandpa style" and buy a piece of furniture from an antique store! Not only is tradition written all over it, but it will give your apartment some interior designing "age". Choose unique wall colors and paint your walls!! We all know that Camden wants you to make your apartment home your home for the duration of your time with us. As a resident, you are able to paint your walls your very own customized color (just make sure it is painted back in the event that you give notice - which we know you wont because we are AWESOME!). Southern Living Magazine suggests colors like Sea Blue and Moss Green. These colors radiate tradition. If you want to take it a bit older, try Royal Magenta. Nothing takes you further into tradition than that. Colors are said to stimulate memories and feelings. The right color will remind you of Grandma's Pumpkin Pie. Last but not least, pillows! And when I say 'Pillow' I am not referring to your favorite Temperpedic pillow that you sleep with every night. No, I am referring to the cute little cushions that you can lean on your living room couches and decorate your bedroom with. These little cushions tend to look a bit 'antique' and 'decorative' and can add that last touch of "hominess" to your apartment home. So, the next time you are at Camden Cotton Mills, or any other contemporary Camden Property, don't tell yourself that you cant, but look at all of the endless possibilities for interior design that you have laying before you. Contemporary homes can oftentimes be a canvas for your own creativity.